Khedive Ismail

Khedive Ismail was an Egyptian ruler who desired to modernize Eygpt, using as his model European nations. He was born in 1830 and died in 1895. Ismail sought independence from the Ottoman Empire for Egypt and through bribery was able to acquire the Sultan's approval to restrict ruling succession in his own descendants and gained the title of Khedive in 1867. During his reign,the Suez Canal was completed in 1869. [1]